Chapter 16 Deepak

Chapter 16 Deepak

Text messages from one year and six months ago:

VEERA: Hi

DEEPAK: Hi

VEERA: Lunch?

DEEPAK: Am I buying?

VEERA: That's really nice of you to offer!

DEEPAK: Brat.

VEERA: I have been known to be one.

VEERA: Sushi?

DEEPAK: Yeah. Now I have something to look forward to today.

"I'm pretty sure I'm having a heart attack," Deepak said to Prem. It had been two days since they'd returned from his parents' house and he was still feeling chest pains.

Prem was dressed in his white coat and sitting behind a wide oak desk. He rolled his eyes through Deepak's phone screen. "You're

not having a heart attack."

"Some doctor you are," Deepak said. "You haven't done any testing."

"I'm looking at your face, asshole, and I know you're just stressed out and overreacting."

Deepak dropped his head to the manila files in front of him. He had so much work to do. He was prepping for quarter four reports,

reviewing year-end financials, completing board and shareholder dashboards, scripting town hall presentations, and so much

more.

Yet all he could think about was last weekend and the incredible sound of Veera's pleasure. He couldn't believe that he'd

touched her like that. That he had the privilege, the honor, of making her come in his arms.

When they woke the next morning, he had every intention to tell her that as her husband, he wanted to do it again. To be there

for her for every cry, every gasp, every shiver and release. Except he'd woken to Veera's sunshine smile.

She'd pretended as if nothing happened and let him know that chai was ready downstairs when he got dressed. Then on the drive

back, she'd talked about every random subject under the sun from Reagan's administration to climate change to the history

of guests that appeared on Sesame Street . Every time he'd tried to circle back to their night together, she'd cut him off.

And now that he'd gone back to work, and they'd resumed living together with even more sexual tension than before, Deepak was losing his mind.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do," he said.

"You're supposed to tell her that you want to be with her," Prem replied blandly. "You're supposed to ask her out on a date

and tell her that you want to have a real relationship."

Deepak glared at his phone. "You know I can't do that."

"Why not?" Prem asked. "It's obvious that she has feelings, too, if she's still with you after a weekend at your parents'

place."

How was he supposed to explain his situation to Prem? Vee's friendship was important to him. If he asked her for more before

she wanted more, too, then he'd ruin what they had. More importantly, it was terrifying to think that his growing feelings

might not be reciprocated.

Deepak didn't deserve Veera. She'd been kind, and funny, and so patient with him since the moment they met. Even when he'd

failed to support her through the merger, she never held it against him like her twin. Now she'd just come back into his life.

He couldn't risk losing her again. Not until she was ready.

"I know how Veera will respond," Deepak said. "She has to want this marriage to be a real one and ask me for it, first. If

I approach her, she'll just run away."

Prem scrubbed his hands over his face. "Deepak, I think you're overanalyzing this. Remember what you used to tell me when

I was on The Dr. Dil Show ? The simpler the message, the easier it is to connect to an audience. Be straightforward with Veera and tell her how you

feel. Assess, address, reevaluate."

That was the worst advice he'd ever heard.

"If she was interested in more, then she wouldn't have pretended that absolutely nothing happened when we woke up in the morning," Deepak said.

"Look, I told you I didn't want details—"

"And I'm not sharing details," Deepak replied. "That's disrespectful to my wife."

"Your fake wife," Prem clarified.

"Shut up," Deepak replied. He twisted in his seat so he could lean closer to the screen. "All I'm saying is that this morning,

she made me coffee and then waved from her spot on my couch."

"That sounds like something Kareena would do, too," Prem said, a bemused expression on his face. He stroked a hand over his

stubble. "I don't know how many times you want me to tell you that you have to stop being a coward and face your feelings."

"Easy for you to say. You literally thought love was a lie, and relationships were built on neurological responses and attraction."

His best friend, the cardiologist whose name translated to the word love , had been a staunch believer in some wackadoo theory about feelings causing heart problems. That was until he caught feelings

himself.

Prem gave him the finger, his wedding band flashing before he delivered the fuck you hand gesture. "I'm trying to help you."

Deepak knew that, but he also knew that he was confused, and Veera deserved so much more than his messy, broken spirit.

He heard a ping from his computer and glanced back at his screen to see that Kim had sent him an urgent message.

"Prem, I got to go," he said. Kim rarely sent him urgent messages.

"Good luck, brother," Prem said. "And, no, you are not having a heart attack."

"I'm getting a second opinion," Deepak said, then hung up the call. He spun around in his chair, to read the message more

closely.

KIM ISHIYAMA: Your wife is here with your lunch, but she just ran into her father outside your office, and I'm not sure what to do.

KIM ISHIYAMA: Do I leave? This feels intrusive.

KIM ISHIYAMA: Boss, should I hide under my desk or something?

Deepak was up and out of his chair in a heartbeat. He grabbed his suit coat from the back of his seat and shrugged it on by

the time he got to his office door.

Since Veera's father was the new chief financial officer of Illyria Media, it was no surprise that he was walking around the

executive leadership floor. What was surprising was that Veera was also there and both of them just happened to be in the

same place at the same time.

"—I just wanted to help you and your sister."

Malkit Mathur's voice was soft and syrup smooth as he spoke to Veera. His back was to Deepak's door, and over his shoulder,

Deepak could see the tense expression on Veera's face. Those three lines formed between her eyebrows. Against the far wall,

Kim crouched down next to her desk as if she were picking something up off the floor and got stuck in her hunched position.

"We didn't ask you for your help," Veera said, her voice soft and delicate.

"Of course not," Malkit Mathur replied. His hand made a wide semicircle as he gesticulated. "But as your father, I wanted

to make sure that I did what was best by you both. Which is why I helped position you to be the best marriage candidates."

Veera snorted. "By being unemployed? This is not the same generation, the same year that you and Mom got married."

"Oh, don't give me that ‘Dad is being sexist' speech again," Malkit Mathur said dismissively. "You don't understand how many

sacrifices I made, or how difficult it was to make sure that I took care of you and your sister."

"That's not true," Veera said. Deepak heard the waver in her voice, but he didn't approach them just yet. Waiting from a distance,

he watched with pride as Veera continued to stand firm against her father. "Papa, you only made decisions that suited you

and the business. You never liked that we were building our own client base, our own methods of working. You never approved.

We were paving our own way."

Malkit Mathur tsked at her like he was correcting a child. Deepak fisted his hands at his sides.

"Your sister was paving her own way," Veera's father said. He still spoke in that soft, steady cadence that was subtly condescending.

"She was always the risk-taker, the innovative one. But you were wonderful at doing what you were told. I never intended for

you to be in the leadership, but it was good for company morale to have someone I could count on to do exactly what I needed

and defend my position. To be truthful, I thought Sana would be a good fit for my team in Illyria Media Group because she

actually contributed to the company, but she wouldn't accept the position without you. That's why both of you had to go."

There was a long pause, and from his vantage point, Deepak could see the shock and hurt on Veera's face. Then her lips pinched

and her chin tilted up in defiance.

"You know what? You did me a favor by firing me. I have never felt happier than I do now without you in my life. You were always the reason why Sana and I never became the leaders we were meant to be."

"Watch your tone with me," her father said. "You're in my office, and—"

"No, she's in my office," Deepak said. He stepped forward and waited for Malkit Mathur to turn around.

The older man took his time pivoting on his heels. His expression was a mask of false surprise, followed by a cool smile.

"Deepak," he said, then adjusted his oversize suit coat. "It's nice to see my daughter again, but this time, bringing lunch

to her husband. I always told her she'd make a wonderful wife to someone one day. It makes me so proud—"

"She's not here for lunch," Deepak said, cutting off his CFO. "Veera has been consulting for me for almost a year. We're considering

different ways to build in equitable finance practices to our business model, and since she's the expert, I wanted to bring

her in early."

He turned to meet Veera's gaze, and with a slight tilt of his head, he motioned to his office. "Are you ready to get started?"

Veera nodded as she clutched a brown paper bag against her chest. She didn't look at her father as she said, "Goodbye, Papa,"

then strode past him. "We have a meeting." She disappeared through Deepak's office doorway.

He was about to follow when Malkit Mathur spoke again. He reached out as if he were trying to grip Deepak's suit coat lapel.

"This is a meeting I should be involved in," he said. "Finance is my division. And I've trained my daughter. I know her methods

better than anyone and I can add context to whatever she may be missing. I have the experience."

Deepak shook his head. "I don't think you do, otherwise you would've seen what an asset she is. I need to work with people who are willing to take risks, at innovating and paving their own way. That is Veera."

He ignored Malkit's stunned expression and returned to his office. After closing the door behind him, he retrieved his phone

from his hip pocket and sent Kim a quick message to cancel his next meeting and hold his calls. Then he looked up at his wife.

She stood in the center of the room, bag in hand, tears shimmering on her cheeks, and a fist on one hip.

"Hey," Deepak said softly as he approached her. He felt both a flutter of panic and something more complicated, something

harder to identify, when he saw her big, beautiful, shining eyes on the verge of crying. "I'm so sorry that he said those

things to you. I'm sorry that he had a chance to talk to you at all."

"I'm only responding this way because I'm mad," she said. Then she put the paper bag on top of Deepak's desk, covering the

latest draft of the shareholder year-end reports. With quick, jerky movements, she used the sleeves of her cardigan to dry

her face. "Deeps, why is my father such a prick? More importantly, why haven't you forced him into retirement yet?"

Deepak wished he had an understandable answer for her. Instead, he told her the truth. "With his presence, we limited turnover

on the Mathur Financial Group side of the business." He wanted to be near to her, so he curled his fingers under her bicep

to tug her close. "I'm still sorry," he said and then kissed the crown of her head when she leaned into his embrace.

"We always had a complicated relationship," Veera whispered as she burrowed against Deepak's shoulder and gripped the fabric

of his shirt at his lower back. The pressure of her breasts flush against his chest, her electric fingerprints on his skin,

reminded him of the night they spent together.

"I really do appreciate the save, Deeps."

"No problem." They stood like that for another moment, holding each other. Deepak inhaled the sweet kiwi scent of her hair,

felt the softness of her ponytail curls brushing his fingertips as he stroked her back. He could feel her relaxing degree

by degree.

When she pulled away, she was smiling again. "Wow," she said with a deep breath. "Daddy issues by noon. What a way to start

a Thursday."

"Since my father is my boss, I have daddy issues every day," Deepak said. Then he cleared his throat and reached for the bag

to open it. He almost sighed in pleasure when he retrieved the creamy Thai green curry with chicken. It was their standing

lunch order when they used to meet in the middle of the workweek.

"Truthfully, I do want to talk about work," Veera said. As proof of her resilience, she fanned her face with the palm of her

hand to dry the rest of her tears, then picked up the utensil packets he'd handed to her while he popped the lids of the containers.

"I received a call from Margaret Thakur. We met for coffee this morning."

"Margaret?" Deepak said, as he set her curry in front of her. "From the board?"

Veera nodded. "She was a big supporter of equitable lending when she worked with my father. She heard through the grapevine

that you and I are putting together this equitable lending pitch and she wanted to help."

"That's great!" Deepak said. "The more support we have early, the easier it'll be to get it approved and set aside a budget

for it." Even though they were using her equitable lending plan as part of their relationship story, he really wanted her

to explore whatever career opportunities excited her, and if bringing her proposal to fruition was it, then he would make

whatever call, give her whatever resources, she needed.

"There's more," Veera said. She sat in one of the guest chairs opposite his desk. "Before we ended our chat, Margaret told me the board is struggling finding someone for the CEO position because there really is no one else who is qualified the way you are."

Deepak turned to Veera and smiled. "That's amazing," he said. The information was surprising, and he appreciated that she

was able to find it for him, but the mention of the board, of his position as CEO, felt like a diversion. It felt like she

wanted to re-shift the focus back on him, when moments before, her father had made her cry, and she'd been discussing plans

for her equitable lending pitch. He wanted to know more about what made her happy. That was what was important to him right

now.

"Amazing? That's better than amazing," Veera said. Then she nudged his knee. "Why aren't you happier about the news?"

"Because I'm still focused on you," he admitted. "I'm still worried about you."

She shook her head, even though the corner of her mouth tilted downward in a half frown. "I'm fine. I promise. I told you;

my father and I have always had a complicated relationship."

He hated how quickly she brushed it aside. If he and his father were at odds like that, he wouldn't know what to do. It just

went to show how strong Veera was to both grieve family relationships and move on at the same time.

"I still reserve the right to fight him if you want me to."

"Sexist," she said, "but I appreciate you asking first."

"You're welcome," he said. He sat in the chair next to her and used the edge of his desk the same way he used to when they

were friends. Colleagues. Their knees bumped companionably, and her bright sunny smile returned as she separated her chopsticks

and then rubbed them together to remove any rough edges.

"I'm so glad you stopped by for lunch," he said. "Now tell me more about your Margaret meeting. She's a hard one to read."

Veera took her first mouthful of rice, shrimp, and green curry. "Margaret doesn't want the bottom line. She wants a story.

If you're going to sell her on something, make it personal."

"I'll say it again," Deepak said. "Your father was an absolute fool for letting you go."

VEERA: Sana, did Dad tell you that he was firing me, and keeping you on?

SANA: Where did you hear that?

VEERA: Dad told me. Is it true?

SANA: Why are you talking to Dad?

VEERA: I ran into him at Deepak's office. Just answer the question.

VEERA: Please.

SANA: Fine. He said that he may keep me on for the global markets, but I told him hell no if you won't be there.

SANA: I didn't want to tell you because I know he was being an asshole, and he would've probably fired me anyway.

SANA: Please don't be mad.

VEERA: Too late. I'm big mad. You should've told me! What else aren't you telling me?

SANA: Come on, you know that I only want to protect you. I'm the older sister.

VEERA: Don't start that nonsense. And I can protect myself.